my chickens are exposed to my cattle creep feeder which has purina accuration in the feed. is this safe for my chicknes to eat ?

[pcockdude]

my chickens are exposed to my cattle creep feeder which has purina accuration in the feed. is this safe for my chicknes to eat ?

 

[Debbie292d]

If they ate it once, I wouldn't think anything of it, but I sure wouldn't want them eating it every day. Cattle have very different nutritional needs from chickens and that could cause problems now or down the road.

Just a quick glance, it's got 33% protein and 9% fat. That's way too high for chickens and can cause kidney or other issues. Not trying to scare you here, but long term eating that just won't end well IMO.

 

[Altairsky]

If your chickens free range don't worry. They can self regulate on what they need. If they don't they would have gone extinct eons ago.
Chickens that free range have access to a wide range of foods, each with different nutritional value. Some even poisonous. So all chickens that free range are trained to eat what they need, in the right quantities.

A chicken will eat up to 25% protein. If your chickens are on a 15% protein layer feed that is not enough so they will get the extra proteins somewhere else.

 

[bannefin]

I can attest to the self regulation thing.

I expect one of my hens went through kidney issues in May. I didn’t realize it at the time, but she had stopped eating high protein foods (a cause of kidney damage for chickens who over indulge). I noticed she was getting very skinny and tried to tempt her with scrambled eggs and oatmeal. She ate around the eggs and was desperate for more grains. Looking at her droppings, she must have been living off grass for a while. I got her through it on brown rice and veggies. She went back to layer pellets, but it took almost a month.

 

[chickenland1]

If they ate it once, I wouldn't think anything of it, but I sure wouldn't want them eating it every day. Cattle have very different nutritional needs from chickens and that could cause problems now or down the road.

Just a quick glance, it's got 33% protein and 9% fat. That's way too high for chickens and can cause kidney or other issues. Not trying to scare you here, but long term eating that just won't end well IMO.

The Purina Cattle Starter/Creep 14 I have is only 14% protein. Dumor sells a poultry product with14% so that wouldn’t seem to be a problem. Does anyone use the Creep 14 on their chickens and if so have there been any problems?

 

[Debbie292d]

The Purina Cattle Starter/Creep 14 I have is only 14% protein. Dumor sells a poultry product with14% so that wouldn’t seem to be a problem. Does anyone use the Creep 14 on their chickens and if so have there been any problems?

That's too low for chickens. And it's got stuff in it that cattle need for their nutrition that chickens don't, and probably missing something chickens need. You would find their feathers looking drab and they could be more prone to illness since they aren't getting what a chicken's body needs. They may also start feather picking each other to get more protein or eating their own eggs.

I'm sure they'd survive on it for a while, but your chickens, meat, eggs, and chicks would all suffer eventually.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

The Purina Cattle Starter/Creep 14 I have is only 14% protein. Dumor sells a poultry product with14% so that wouldn’t seem to be a problem. Does anyone use the Creep 14 on their chickens and if so have there been any problems?

I looked up Dumor products, and the 14% I saw was for game bird maintenance in seasons when they’re not producing (laying.)

Feed your chickens chicken feed, at least 16% (or higher), and make sure that the layers have oyster shell available on the side (don’t mix it in) to eat for strong shells.